Festival Programme

The Adam Chamber Music Festival opens in true style with our signature Gala Dinner – an elegant evening of exquisite cuisine, fine wine and sublime music. You’ll enjoy an intimate preview of the festival’s musical highlights, specially curated for this enchanting evening.

Share a table with fellow music lovers and meet some of our musicians – the acclaimed Jupiter String Quartet, New Zealand String Quartet, clarinettist James Campbell, bassoonist Todd Gibson-Cornish, horn-player Shadley van Wyck and contrabass virtuoso Phoebe Russell. 

Cindy Batt and Bob Bickerton opening karanga 

Carl Nielsen – Serenata in vano – James Campbell (clarinet), Shadley van Wyck (horn) Todd Gibson-Cornish (bassoon), Martin Smith (cello) 

Francis Poulenc – Élégie for horn and piano – Shadley van Wyck (horn), Sarah Watkins (piano)

Jenny McLeod – Tone Clock Piece No. 4  (Vive Messaien) – Sarah Watkins (piano)

Alberto Ginastera – String Quartet No. 1 – Jupiter String Quartet

Reena Esmail – Darshan – Charukeshi – Mélanie Clapiès (violin) 

Wolfgang Mozart – Clarinet Concerto in A major K 622 (arr. for quintet) – James Campbell (clarinet), New Zealand String Quartet

We open the 18th Adam Chamber Music Festival with an evening of rich musical colour and striking contrasts, spanning centuries, continents and styles. Carl Nielsen’s light-hearted serenade unfolds like a musical conversation – playful, poetic, and distinctly Scandinavian.  In Élégie, French composer Francis Poulenc pays tribute to legendary British horn player, Dennis Brain, who died in a car accident in 1957. Brain was greatly admired by Poulenc and keenly missed by fellow musicians and audiences alike.

Argentinian composer Alberto Ginastera’s String Quartet No. 1 follows with raw energy and rhythmic vitality in its synthesis of modernist drive and folk-inspired passion. A moment of reflection and devotion arrives with Reena Esmail’s Darshan – Charukeshi, blending Indian classical traditions with Western forms.

The evening concludes with a fresh take on a beloved classic, Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in an arrangement for clarinet and string quintet, in which we experience the lyrical beauty and crystalline brilliance of one of Mozart’s final masterpieces.

We sit down with two festival artists – Canadian tenor Colin Ainsworth and Australian bassist Phoebe Russell – for a fascinating glimpse into their lives and musical journeys.

Jean-Marie Leclair – Three Sonatas for Two violins – Mélanie Clapiès and Meg Freivogel (violins)

Frank Bridge – Lament for Two Violas – Gillian Ansell and Liz Freivogel (violas) 

Salina Fisher – Mata-Au – Mana Waiariki (violin), Tal Amoore (viola), Lavinnia Rae (cello)

Reinhold Glière – Prélude, Berceuse and Scherzo from 8 Pieces, Op. 39 – Arna Morton (violin), Phoebe Russell (double bass) 

Bernardo Alviz Iriarte – Elegia y brillo para dos – Arna Morton (violin), Phoebe Russell (double bass)  

Astor Piazzolla – Three Tangos – Arna Morton (violin), Phoebe Russell (double bass) 

From the soft murmurings of rivers to the vibrant pulse of tango, this concert demonstrates the possibilities of colour, mood and style with just two or three string players on stage. Leclair’s violin duos sparkle with French Baroque clarity, Frank Bridge’s Lament offers poignant depth and the velvet tones of two violas while Salina Fisher’s trio Mata-Au flows with the spirit of water and place. The second half comprises an enticing set of duos for violin and double bass. We hear the New Zealand premiere of Colombian composer Bernardo Alviz Iriarte’s Elegia y brillo para dos, three Ukrainian gems from Glière, and conclude with the gritty rhythms and Argentinian fire of Piazzolla’s tangos.

We’ve invited Nelson’s own Hogarth Chocolate Makers to delight your tastebuds and elevate your listening experience.

Kevin Lau – A Drop of Light – New Zealand String Quartet with guest cellist Lavinnia Rae, Phoebe Russell (double bass), James Campbell (clarinet), Shadley van Wyck (horn), Todd Gibson-Cornish (bassoon)

Chocolate pairing: Buttered Toast & Sea Salt – savoury and salty. Like the music, it wakes you up.

James Rolfe – Six Songs – Colin Ainsworth (tenor), Sarah Watkins (piano), New Zealand String Quartet

Chocolate pairing: Hazelnut Coffee Caramel – perfect for this song cycle which has some sweet and smooth songs, along with some intense and nutty ones as well. Sweet, frenetic, tempestuous, heartfelt.

César Franck – Piano Quintet – New Zealand String Quartet, Jeremy Denk (piano) 

Chocolate pairing: 72% Dark – the brooding Romantic fervour of the quintet is matched by the chocolate’s dark intensity. Piquant, luscious. 

Three distinctive works, three unique flavours – both musical and edible – come together in this richly textured and emotionally vivid programme. 

We celebrate our Canadian artists, James Campbell and Colin Ainsworth, by showcasing two composers from their home country. The concert begins with Kevin Lau’s A Drop of Light, a luminous and rhythmically charged piece for mixed ensemble. Like its chocolate match – Buttered Toast & Sea Salt – the music is savoury, surprising, and full of bite. With its bold instrumentation and kinetic energy, this piece is sure to sharpen the senses.

Next, we turn to James Rolfe’s Six Songs, set to poems from Walt Whitman’s collection, Leaves of Grass, which explore facets of desire, whether quiet, turbulent, or defiant. The accompanying flavour, Hazelnut Coffee Caramel, reflects the work’s vibrant contrasts – sweet, bold, nutty, and richly layered.

Finally, we are swept into the turbulent depths of César Franck’s Piano Quintet, a Romantic tour de force brimming with raw longing and intensity, depicting Franck’s feelings for his beautiful composition student, Augusta Holmès. We pair it with 72% Dark, as rich and intense as the music itself. 

We catch up with members of the Jupiter String Quartet to hear stories and insights about their music and careers.

From the young to the young at heart, everyone will enjoy this delightful family concert by the rising stars of the Antipodes Quartet.

Franz Schubert – Die Schöne Müllerin

Colin Ainsworth (tenor), Jeremy Denk (piano)

This concert marks the first in a series of four Schubert masterpieces featured in the festival. Tenor Colin Ainsworth and pianist Jeremy Denk join forces for Schubert’s Die Schöne Müllerin – a cornerstone of the song cycle repertoire and one of Schubert’s most emotionally rich creations. Set to Wilhelm Müller’s evocative poetry, the cycle traces a young wanderer’s tender hopes and inevitable heartbreak as he falls for the miller’s daughter. With two artists of such extraordinary sensitivity and insight, this performance promises to be a deeply moving festival highlight.

Wolfgang Mozart – String Quintet in B-flat major, K174 – New Zealand String Quartet, Liz Freivogel (viola)

Gareth Farr – Octet – New Zealand String Quartet, Antipodes Quartet

Antonín Dvořák – Piano Quartet No. 2 in E-flat major, Op. 87 – Meg Freivogel (violin), Liz Freivogel (viola), Daniel McDonough (cello), Michael Endres (piano)

From classical elegance to bold contemporary flair, this richly varied programme reveals the expressive breadth of chamber music in three distinctive forms.

Mozart’s radiant String Quintet in B-flat major, written at just seventeen, sparkles with youthful charm and playful brilliance. In contrast, New Zealand composer Gareth Farr’s vibrant Octet, commissioned for the 2017 Adam Chamber Music Festival, is a kinetic, high-energy work bursting with rhythmic drive and colour. 

To close, we hear Dvořák’s mature Piano Quartet in E-flat major, a richly lyrical work written after prolonged urging from his publisher. Though less Bohemian in style than his other better-known chamber music works, it nevertheless offers an irresistible blend of propulsive rhythms, folksy dances, dreamy slow music and joyous melodies.

We dive into conversation with violinist Natalia Lomeiko and pianist Jeremy Denk, uncovering the stories, passions, and surprising moments that have shaped their careers.

Nadia Boulanger – Trois Pièces for Cello and Piano

Salina Fisher – Mono no aware (物の哀れ)

Ludwig van Beethoven – Sonata No. 4  in C major, Op. 102 No. 1 

Sergei Prokofiev – Cello Sonata in C major, Op. 119

Martin Smith (cello), Liam Furey (piano)

A programme of striking contrasts beginning with Nadia Boulanger’s Trois Pièces – a treasure of miniature gems rich with colour and quiet melancholy. New Zealand composer Salina Fisher’s Mono no aware follows, bringing a contemplative stillness that explores beauty in impermanence. Beethoven’s Sonata No. 4 in C major, written at the beginning of his late period, offers a masterwork of structural invention and probing emotional depth. We close with Prokofiev’s sweeping Cello Sonata, a generous and lyrical work composed in gratitude to the young Mstislav Rostropovich for playing his neglected 1st Cello Concerto. An instant success, it quickly became – and remains – a cornerstone of the cello repertoire.

Concerto for Oboe and Violin in D minor, BWV 1060 – Robert Orr (oboe), Peter Clark (violin), Kemp English (harpsichord), Adam Festival Orchestra

Johann Sebastian Bach

Aria “Es dünket mich, ich seh dich kommen” from Cantata BWV 175 – Colin Ainsworth (tenor), Daniel McDonough (cello), Phoebe Russell (double bass), Kemp English (chamber organ)

Aria “Erwäge, wie sein blutgefärbter Rücken”, from St. John Passion BWV 245 – Colin Ainsworth (tenor), Mélanie Clapiès and Meg Freivogel (violins), Martin Smith (cello), Kemp English (harpsichord), Adam Festival Orchestra 

Aria “Ich eile, die Lehren des Lebens zu hören” from Cantata BWV 148 – Colin Ainsworth (tenor), Natalia Lomeiko (violin), Daniel McDonough (cello), Kemp English (harpsichord)

Italian Concerto BWV971 – Kemp English (harpsichord)

Prelude and Fugue in E-flat major, BWV 552 – Paul Chan (organ)

Aria “Seht, Seht, wie reisst, wie Bricht, wie fällt” from Cantata BWV 92 – Colin Ainsworth (tenor), Kemp English (chamber organ), Adam Festival Orchestra

Aria “Ich Armer Mensch, ich Sündenknecht”, BWV 55 – Colin Ainsworth (tenor), Robert Orr (oboe d’amore), Kemp English (harpsichord), Adam Festival Orchestra, Chroma Choir

Violin Concerto in A minor, BWV 1041 – Natalia Lomeiko (violin), Kemp English (harpsichord), Adam Festival Orchestra 

Adam Festival Orchestra 
An exceptional ensemble of festival artists comes together for a luminous evening of Bach, explored through a rich variety of instrumentations and interpretations. From radiant arias and intimate solo works to vibrant concertos, this programme offers both reflection and celebration, set within the serene beauty of Nelson Cathedral.

Violin: Peter Clark, Mélanie Clapiès, Meg Freivogel, Arna Morton, Eden Annersley, Mana Waiariki, Yuka Eguchi
Viola: Liz Freivogel, Gillian Ansell, Tal Amoore
Cello: Martin Smith, Daniel McDonough, Lavinnia Rae
Double bass: Phoebe Russell

(Please note this is an Up Country event exclusive to VIP Pass Holders)

Gioachino Rossini – Duet in D major for cello and double bass  – Phoebe Russell (double bass), Martin Smith (cello)

Ludwig van Beethoven – Septet in E-flat major, Op. 20 – Peter Clark (violin), Gillian Ansell (viola), Martin Smith (cello), Phoebe Russell (double bass), James Campbell (clarinet), Shadley van Wyck (horn), Todd Gibson-Cornish (bassoon)

A delightful concert of charm and virtuosity that will be majestically enhanced by the view. We begin with Rossini’s playful Duet for Cello and Double Bass – a spirited conversation between two of the orchestra’s deepest voices. The second half of the programme is Beethoven’s beloved Septet, brimming with elegance, invention, and warmth. It was so popular in its day, it eclipsed much of his other music, much to Beethoven’s chagrin. “That damned thing,” he retorted to an admirer, “I wish it were burned!”

Joseph Haydn – Quartet in C major, Op. 33 No. 3 ‘The Bird’

Salina Fisher – Heal

Robert Schumann – String Quartet in A minor, Op. 41 No. 1

Jupiter String Quartet

Join the Jupiter String Quartet for an afternoon of vivid musical storytelling, with a programme that spans centuries, styles, and continents.

The journey begins with Haydn’s spirited Quartet in C major, affectionately known as ‘The Bird’ for its playful, fluttering motifs and bright wit – a hallmark of the composer’s Op. 33 set, which revolutionised the string quartet with a bolder sense of fun and adventure.

In contrast, Salina Fisher’s Heal offers a space of introspection and sonic stillness, drawing on natural imagery and subtle textures to evoke both vulnerability and strength. The concert concludes with Schumann’s intense and impassioned String Quartet in A minor, composed during a surge of creativity in 1842. Longing to express himself more fully after accompanying his wife Clara on tour, Schumann turned to the string quartet with a sense of urgency and fervour – resulting in music of deep emotional charge and restless beauty.

Clara Schumann – Romance in A minor, Op. 21 No. 1

Tania León – Rituàl

Cécile Chaminade – La Lisonjera (The Flatterer)

Missy Mazzoli – Heartbreaker

Amy Beach – ‘In Autumn’ from Four Sketches, Op. 15

Meredith Monk – Paris

Louise Farrenc – Melodie in A-flat major

Ruth Crawford-Seeger – Piano Study in Mixed Accents

Phyllis Chen – SumiTones

Amy Beach – ‘Dreaming’ from Four Sketches, Op. 15
Johannes Brahms – Four Pieces for Piano, Op. 119

Robert Schumann – Fantasie in C major, Op. 17

Jeremy Denk (piano)

A celebration of musical voices across time, this vibrant programme weaves together the intimate, the bold, and the visionary. Be prepared for contrasts and connections that traverse centuries and sensibilities.

The first half highlights a rich tapestry of works by remarkable women composers, from Clara Schumann’s tender Romance to the rhythmic intensity of Tania León’s Rituàl, and the playful charm of Cécile Chaminade’s La Lisonjera. Contemporary gems from Missy Mazzoli, Phyllis Chen, and Meredith Monk pulse with invention, while pieces by Amy Beach, Louise Farrenc, and Ruth Crawford Seeger offer poetic depth and expressive range.

In the second half, two monumental Romantic masterworks take centre stage: Brahms’ introspective and autumnal Four Pieces for Piano, and Schumann’s sweeping Fantasie in C major, a passionate homage to Beethoven and a testament to Schumann’s literary and emotional intensity. 

Come and watch the 2025/26 Fellowship Ensemble (who have named themselves the Antipodes Quartet) receive expert coaching from members of the Jupiter String Quartet, assisting them in enhancing their expressivity and bringing the music to life.

Wolfgang Mozart – Quintet for Piano and Winds in E-flat major, K452 – Robert Orr (oboe) Jim Campbell (clarinet), Shadley van Wyck (horn), Todd Gibson-Cornish (bassoon), Michael Endres (piano)

Liam Furey (Emerging Composer-in-Residence) – Limbic Evolution (Adam Chamber Music Festival commission) – New Zealand String Quartet

Ralph Vaughan Williams – On Wenlock Edge – Colin Ainsworth (tenor), Michael Endres (piano), New Zealand String Quartet

This richly varied programme brings together three strikingly different sound worlds. Mozart’s radiant Quintet for Piano and Winds, written to impress and hopefully solicit commissions from a local prince, showcases the elegance and wit of late Mozart in a work the composer himself called one of his best. 

New Zealand composer Liam Furey describes his festival commission, Limbic Evolution, as “a mixture of modern-day commentary with an unconventional form of virtuosity and  some theatricality, where each player is assigned a mobile phone with a timer set…”. We’ll have to wait and see what unfolds.

The concert concludes with the first of the festival’s celebrated English song cycles, Ralph Vaughan Williams’ poignant On Wenlock Edge, using evocative poetry from A.E. Housman’s A Shropshire Lad. Vaughan Williams’ influences of bothEnglish folksong and his recent studies with Ravel are evidenced in this haunting musical drama, with its modalism, expert word-painting and exquisite colouristic effects.

A selection of American folksongs, spirituals and rags by William Bolcom, Florence Price, Margaret Bonds and H.T. Burleigh – Jupiter String Quartet

John Adams – Shaker Loops – Jupiter String Quartet, Peter Clark (violin), Phoebe Russell (bass)

Franz Schubert – Trio in E-flat major – Natalia Lomeiko (violin), Daniel McDonough (cello), Jeremy Denk (piano)

From the soulful strains of American spirituals to the rhythmic vitality of rags, this concert traces a rich musical lineage. The Jupiter String Quartet brings fresh life to selections by William Bolcom, Florence Price, Margaret Bonds, and H.T. Burleigh – composers who infused classical traditions with the voice of American folk heritage.

They are joined by Peter Clark (violin) and Phoebe Russell (double bass) for John Adams’ Shaker Loops, a shimmering, minimalist masterpiece inspired by the ecstatic rituals of the Shaker religious community.

The evening concludes with the second of our quartet of Schubert masterworks, his late Piano Trio in E-flat, the only one of Schubert’s large-scale and serious instrumental works printed in his lifetime. Full of rich melodies, charm, playfulness, and infectious rhythmic energy, Schubert declared the work “is dedicated to nobody, except those who find pleasure in it”.

(Please note this Up Country event is exclusive to VIP Pass Holders only)

Joseph Haydn – Quartet in C major, Op. 33 No. 3 ‘The Bird’

Salina Fisher – Heal

Robert Schumann – String Quartet in A minor, Op. 41 No. 1

Jupiter String Quartet

Join the Jupiter String Quartet in the quiet elegance of a 19th century wooden church for an afternoon of vivid musical storytelling, with a programme that spans centuries, styles, and continents.

The journey begins with Haydn’s spirited Quartet in C major, affectionately known as ‘The Bird’ for its playful, fluttering motifs and bright wit – a hallmark of the composer’s Op. 33 set, which revolutionised the string quartet with a bolder sense of fun and adventure.

In contrast, Salina Fisher’s Heal offers a space of introspection and sonic stillness, drawing on natural imagery and subtle textures to evoke both vulnerability and strength. The concert concludes with Schumann’s intense and impassioned String Quartet in A minor, composed during a surge of creativity in 1842. Longing to express himself more fully after accompanying his wife Clara on tour, Schumann turned to the string quartet with a sense of urgency and fervour – resulting in music of deep emotional charge and restless beauty.

Gioachino Rossini – Duet in D major for cello and double bass  – Phoebe Russell (double bass), Martin Smith (cello)

Ludwig van Beethoven – Septet in E-flat major, Op. 20 – Peter Clark (violin), Gillian Ansell (viola), Martin Smith (cello), Phoebe Russell (double bass), James Campbell (clarinet), Shadley van Wyck (horn), Todd Gibson-Cornish (bassoon)

A delightful concert of charm and virtuosity that will be majestically enhanced by the view. We begin with Rossini’s playful Duet for Cello and Double Bass – a spirited conversation between two of the orchestra’s deepest voices. The second half of the programme is Beethoven’s beloved Septet, brimming with elegance, invention, and warmth. It was so popular in its day, it eclipsed much of his other music, much to Beethoven’s chagrin. “That damned thing,” he retorted to an admirer, “I wish it were burned!”

Erich Korngold  – String Quartet No. 2 Op. 26

Antipodes Quartet

Featuring our wonderful 2026 Fellowship Ensemble, who have named themselves the Antipodes Quartet, performing their first or two free concerts. 

The Fellowship Quartet is a joint venture between the Adam Chamber Music Festival, the NZSQ and Chamber Music New Zealand, a career-development experience offered to four of New Zealand’s most promising young string players. Over the course of two years, the group receives training at the Adam Summer School, career advice by the management of the NZSQ, a tour by Chamber Music New Zealand and are featured around town and on stage at the Adam Chamber Music Festival.

This performance is free to attend.

Eugène Ysaÿe – Mazurka No. 3 in B minor, Op. 11 ‘Lointain passe’, and Au rouet, Op. 13

Manuel de Falla – Suite Populaire Espagnole

Ottorino Respighi – Violin Sonata in B minor

Natalia Lomeiko (violin), Sarah Watkins (piano)

An evening of expressive flair and European colour, beginning with two of legendary violinist Eugène Ysaÿe’s miniatures – Mazurka No. 3 ‘Lointain Passé’, a nostalgic nod to the dance forms of the past, and Au rouet, which spins an intricate and delicate thread of French lyricism. We travel south for de Falla’s Suite Populaire Espagnole, which brings Spanish folk melodies to life with fiery charm. Rounding out the programme is Respighi’s impassioned Violin Sonata in B minor, rich with late-Romantic intensity and Italian warmth.

Join Natalia Lomeiko as she mentors young violinists, delving beyond the notes to bring the music vividly to life.

Liam Furey – Disturbance l: Macro I (Wave) for solo viola – Tal Amoore (viola)

Liam Furey – ‘The Birds are Joyous; for it is Morning’ from Preludes for Piano – Liam Furey (piano)

Gillian Bibby – Night Cries in the Mountains – Liam Furey (piano)

Gillian Whitehead – Arapātiki – Liam Furey (piano)

Ross Harris – Klezmer Tunes – New Zealand String Quartet

Janet Jennings – The Auctioneer (Adam Chamber Music Festival commission) – Colin Ainsworth (tenor), New Zealand String Quartet

Emerging composer-in-residence Liam Furey’s Disturbance I: Macro I (Wave) for solo viola opens this Waitangi Day programme devoted to music from Aotearoa New Zealand. Furey then takes the stage as pianist in three works of his choice: his own composition ‘The Birds are Joyous; for it is Morning’, an unpublished gem gifted to him by his former piano teacher, composer Gillian Bibby – Night Cries in the Mountains – and Gillian Whitehead’s Arapātiki.

Ross Harris is known as one of New Zealand’s leading statesmen as a serious composer but is also the accordionist in the Klezmer band, The Kugels. We hear four of his Klezmer tunes especially arranged for the New Zealand String Quartet, before the quartet is joined by tenor Colin Ainsworth for our second festival commission – The Auctioneer by Janet Jennings – which promises theatricality, irony and plenty of irreverence.

Improvisation – Kāhui Takitoru – Ariana Tikao (taonga puoro), Bob Bickerton (taonga puoro), James Campbell (clarinet)

Richard Strauss – Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks (arr Franz Hasenohr) – Natalia Lomeiko (violin), Phoebe Russell (double bass), James Campbell (clarinet), Shadley van Wyck (horn), Todd Gibson-Cornish (bassoon)

Benjamin Britten – Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings – Colin Ainsworth (tenor), Shadley van Wyck (horn), Adam Chamber Festival Orchestra 

Ludwig van Beethoven – String Quartet No. 7 in F major, Op. 59 No. 1 – Jupiter String Quartet 

The concert begins by inviting audiences into a cross-cultural sound world shaped in the moment, with improvisation led by taonga puoro practitioners, Ariana Tikao and Bob Bickerton, and Canadian clarinettist James Campbell. Following is a chamber music arrangement of Richard Strauss’s mischievous symphonic poem Till Eulenspiegel’s Merry Pranks, about an actual 14th century roguish prankster. Next is our second major English song cycle of the festival, Britten’s masterful Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, offering an evocative and profound meditation on night and mortality. To conclude, we hear Beethoven’s monumental String Quartet No. 7 in F major, the first of three of his ‘Razumovsky’ cycle of string quartets, a groundbreaking work as well as being his most popular quartet.

Join Jeremy Denk as he guides young pianists to go beyond the notes and help lift the music off the page.

Franz Schubert – Sonata in A major D 959 – I. Allegro, II. Andantino, III. Scherzo: Allegro vivace, IV. Rondo Allegretto

Franz Schubert / Franz Liszt – Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel

Robert Schumann / Franz Liszt – Dedication

Pyotr Ilyich Tschaikowsky – Lullaby Op. 16 No. 1

George Gershwin Songbook  
The Man I Love 
Swanee Nobody But You
I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise 
Do It Again / Fascinating Rhythm 
Oh, Lady Be Good 
Somebody Loves Me 
Sweet and Low Down 
Clap Yo’ Hands 
Do-Do-Do / My One and Only 
‘S Wonderful 
Strike Up the Band 
Who Cares? 
Liza  
That Certain Feeling 
I Got Rhythm

Michael Endres (piano)

A feast of lyricism, drama, and dazzling pianism awaits in this solo recital by internationally renowned pianist, Michael Endres. The programme opens with the third of our Schubert masterpieces, Sonata in A major, one of his most endearing and charming works. Liszt’s virtuosic transcription brings brilliance to Schubert’s Gretchen at the Spinning Wheel and Schumann’s Dedication, composed as a wedding gift to his wife, distills song into piano poetry.

Tchaikovsky’s tender Lullaby, Op. 16 No. 1, offers a moment of calm before the programme bursts into the irresistible syncopations and wit of Gershwin’s Songbook. From The Man I Love to I Got Rhythm, Endres brings these iconic American classics to life with flair, charm, and rhythmic sparkle.

Ludwig van Beethoven – String Quartet in F minor Op. 95

Antipodes Quartet

Featuring our wonderful 2026 Fellowship Ensemble, who have named themselves the Antipodes Quartet, performing the second of two free concerts. 

The Fellowship Quartet is a joint venture between the Adam Chamber Music Festival, the NZSQ and Chamber Music New Zealand, a career-development experience offered to four of New Zealand’s most promising young string players. Over the course of two years, the group receives training at the Adam Summer School, career advice by the management of the NZSQ, a tour by Chamber Music New Zealand and are featured around town and on stage at the Adam Chamber Music Festival.

This performance is free to attend.

Maria Grenfell – Knitting Unicorns – Adam Festival Orchestra including students from the Adam Summer School)

Pierre-Max Dubois – Sonatine-Tango for bassoon and piano – Todd Gibson-Cornish (bassoon), Jeremy Denk (piano)

Johannes Brahms – Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, Op. 25 – Natalia Lomeiko (violin), Gillian Ansell (viola), Martin Smith (cello), Jeremy Denk (piano)

Franz Schubert – Octet in F major, D. 803 – Natalia Lomeiko (violin), Arna Morton (violin), Gillian Ansell (viola), Martin Smith (cello), Phoebe Russell (double bass), James Campbell (clarinet), Shadley van Wyck (horn), Todd Gibson-Cornish (bassoon)

It’s our final evening and we are determined to go out with a flourish. We open the concert with New Zealand composer Maria Grenfell’s 2017 work celebrating the mythical magic of unicorns in children’s lives, followed by French Pierre-Max Dubois’ playful Sonatine-Tango, full of rhythmic flair and Parisian charm, featuring the bassoon in a rare starring role. 

The first half concludes with Brahms’s towering Piano Quartet No. 1 in G minor, the work with which he made his Viennese debut as composer and performer on the piano. It became an instant success due to Brahms’ extraordinary mastery of thematic development and the high-octane Gypsy Rondo finale. We close the festival with the final of our four Schubert masterpieces, Octet, his epic answer to the Beethoven septet. Despite being written at a time of great suffering in the composer’s life, its six movements make up a serenade of amazing variety, with joviality juxtaposed against seriousness, jaunty dances beside heartrending moments, and hunting themes beside Viennese cafe music. Showing the human condition in such a dramatic light, this octet is the perfect way to conclude the 18th Adam Chamber Music Festival.